As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
Existing server architectures either provide a single monolithic server capable of running one operating system and input/output (I/O) resources at a time, or bulky blade server chassis providing multiple servers and I/O control modules in a single chassis. A system chassis with multiple information handling systems with various peripheral and input/output capabilities common to the chassis as a whole may provide advantages, as it allows a blade server chassis in a small form factor, thereby providing a blade server chassis with a size comparable to the size of a monolithic server. Implementation of a system chassis with multiple information handling systems with various peripheral and input/output capabilities common to the chassis as a whole presents numerous challenges.
For example, it is often desirable to remotely access individual information handling systems (e.g., servers) in chassis. For example, using traditional approaches, an administrator may remotely access information handling systems disposed in a chassis via a chassis management controller disposed in the chassis and communicatively coupled to the individual information handling systems. Communication between the management console and the chassis management controller may be in accordance with Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) or another suitable management interface protocol or standard. In such traditional approaches, the chassis management controller may serve as a virtual keyboard-video-mouse (KVM) interface between an information handling system and a management console, such that keyboard and mouse input at the management console may be processed as if such keyboard and mouse were locally coupled to the information handling system, and a display at the management console may display information as if it were locally coupled to the information handling system.
However, existing virtual KVM interfaces have numerous disadvantages. For example, existing virtual KVM interfaces typically support input/output (I/O) communication with only a single information handling system at a time. Switching to another information handling system using traditional KVM interfaces often requires a login to the information handling system, which may take significant time and negatively affect user experience.